TIP: As a writer and artist, here's what I wish more writers did
No time for me today? Here are the highlights:
Some thoughts for writers as a writer-turned-artist
Changes to Event Fatigue Podcast
Why you should buy the worst comic I've read in recent memory
Happy Tuesday, old sport.
So far, this newsletter has mostly documented my progress as a comics artist, which made me wonder how many of you know that I actually started off as a writer.
I asked for feedback a few issues back on what you wanted to see more of, and heard that a lot of people wanted to hear more about my process; not just as an artist, but as a writer.
I'm hoping not to be pigeonholed as one or the other, but rather be known as the rare all-in-one. I'm not that interested in collaborating with writers or artists, and I don't want to work for the Big Two.
That doesn't mean that I haven't collaborated before. I work on Event Fatigue Podcast with Milton Lawson. I've done pages for-hire for other writers, and am working on a few small projects now for close friends.
Even though collaboration is not my thing, the times I've done it as an artist have been educational as a writer.
As a writer, I tended toward highly-detailed scripts with tons of reference. I wanted to be Alan Moore, I wanted every script I was working on to be Watchmen. I wanted to be the writer that re-ignited that literary sensibility from 80s comics I loved so much.
As a writer, I impressed lots of other writers with those scripts.
I gave nearly every artist I ever tried to work with a stroke.
Now that I'm an artist, I understand why. If I was an artist reading some of my earlier scripts when I thought I was fucking Faulkner, I'd have blood shooting out of my eyes. I would have set half of my scripts on fire and blocked my number.
Disclaimer that this is just me, I'm sure there are some artists out there who need the details and the structure, but maybe it wouldn't hurt if the writer and artist talked a little more tactically before they collaborate. I wonder if it's part of the reason why so many potential collaborations fall through.
As a writer, I felt like I had to direct the artist on what to do as much as possible in order to earn my keep. I had to spend a lot of time with the script and put in a ton of detail to level out the workload some (I don't care what anyone says, art is the harder job).
But now that I'm an artist, I'm wondering if the way the writer earns their keep is to figure out what the artist's strengths are and then write to them. For me, that's more impressive than cramming details into a script.
You know how a showrunner gets pretty much all of the credit for a show's success? I don't think this is unjust, because they also get the brunt if the show fails. Anyway, the good showrunners remind interviewers that they work with a team of talented writers and directors and are quick to give credit where it's due when all goes well.
If you're a comic writer reading this, maybe that's an ideal to strive toward.
You're like the showrunner.
You bring the talent together and figure out how to use the talent to get an end product that matches your vision.
And again, this is a lesson for me as much as anyone. I used to block pages of fight scenes with highly technical Krav Maga moves. I would still be doing that and complaining that no one understands my vision.
I wouldn't have learned this if I hadn't become an artist.
But not everyone can become an artist, or a writer, and experience both sides of the coin. So, I want to offer some tips from the other side.
Now, my writing process is much more lean, and designed to achieve two goals:
Structural minimalism
Emotional maximalism
If that rhymes with your writerly sensibilities, here are some tips based on how I think about scripting:
My panel formula is: "what one thing am I looking at and what is it doing."
Spend time outlining character motivations and beats and where they should fall for maximum impact before scripting. Do NOT discover these things while you're scripting, or you will waste too much real estate or make your job longer and harder than it needs to be.
Want to improve as a writer? Focus on dialogue. Read plays, great literature, and film/TV scripts.
Avoid multiple actions. Two things can't happen at the same time (i.e. she shoots and drops the gun in the same panel). You might think you can picture how it will be done, but it's probably not going to look good. It's also something editors spot right away as amateurish.
If you need multiple things happening in one panel (i.e., a wide establishing panel with a couple points of interest), you have to use this sparingly. Like once per issue sparingly. It's a lot to ask of readers to look at multiple things in one panel, and it takes some strategy. In fact, it might be a good idea to explain the vision to the artist and ask how they think it should be done.
It's okay to just tell an artist to "go crazy" on an action sequence. Lots of big writers do this in comics (Scott Snyder, Tom King). You can tell the artist what the outcome should be, and maybe a few baller moves you'd like to see, but give them some room here. They'll appreciate it.
Comic readers read fast. It's not clever to arrest their attention on arbitrary details, or hide things in each panel that they need.
Tell a story that is good and can be enjoyed at a clip. You can go back and stick in little details that add to the stew, but don't send a reader on an Easter Egg hunt for something they don't know to look for. They don't have the time.
As a writer, you set the tone of the experience. It's a huge responsibility and no one else can do it but you. That experience can be so seamless and enjoyable I didn't even have to think about it, or it can be a plodding mess.
I've gotten some feedback lately on the style of Event Fatigue Podcast (follow/share here), pretty much all of which I completely agree with.
Some readers/friends have said that the figure work is inconsistent and that the studio setting is kind of flat and unconvincing.
Also, don't tell Papa Piekos, but my lettering has been an abomination.
So as not to let my collaborator Milton down and to always strive to learn/be my best self/never stop never stopping, I've been working on these issues and we'll be changing up the look in coming episodes.
It might be a jarring shift for the 15 of you following since day one, but it'll smooth out over time. Since we're only a few episodes in, now is the time to take that early feedback and optimize.
Here are a few panels from next week's episode to give you a sense of how the figure work is changing:
Milton is popping in on lettering duties to help us produce episodes more quickly (plus he's just better at it than I am).
After next week, we're moving to a new studio. Here's a sneak peek:
If you have any suggestions for cool posters or Easter Eggs to stick in the background, shoot me a note.
Here's what I've been reading lately.
Russian Olive to Red King: You ever pick up a comic that has existed for a while that is so perfect, so you, that you're pissed no one who loves you had recommended it to you sooner? That's Russian Olive to Red King. I'm a fan of the Immonens (oddly enough, through their indie work, not their mainstream work), yet somehow this one slipped my radar. Google some of the pages. They are just breathtaking. The comic is very minimalist in style and story. It's a very intimate tale about the dull throbbing of loss. It ends with an experimental essay. Not everyone's cup of tea, but it added a literary flair to it I wish we saw more in comics. It's a heavy tome, but can be finished in an hour or two. I'm going to be "borrowing" from this comic for the rest of my life. Check it out.
Batman #386: In recent reprints, this issue of Batman details the origins of Black Mask, likely reprinted to tie in to Birds of Prey. What a time capsule this is. Black Mask is marketed as more dangerous than Ra's Al Ghul and The Joker, and billed as a "villain for the 80s." I can't tell if writer Doug Moench is making some kind of commentary on the commercial excesses the 80s are typically stereotyped by, but Black Mask's debut marks him as incredibly inept, incompetent, and pathetic; not threatening in the slightest. I'm surprised he has survived to the present day as a B-villain in Batman mythos with this debut. His origin story includes him being dropped on his head as a baby, being bitten (and consequently psychologically tormented) by a fox he was trying to pet, and making dangerous, batshit-insane decisions that run his company into the ground. He becomes Black Mask, forces his henchmen to wear silly masks themselves, and gives them ridiculous names like "Thespis" and "Tupeng." In short, whether Moench is doing this with tongue-in-cheek or with absolute sincerity, this is one of the worst comics I've ever read, but I highly recommend picking it up because it's a gas.
Hey, also: In reprints lately, some awesome Iron Man 2020 tie-in reprints are out including Machine Man with rare Barry Windsor-Smith finishes and a Wolverine with Larry Hama as the writer and Marc Silvestri as the artist. Lady Deathstrike stars as the villain. I still consider Jim Lee the definitive X-Men artist (hey, it's who I grew up with), but Silvestri has him on the run in this issue (possibly thanks to Dan Green on inks). Anyway, both are worth picking up at your LCS.
That's it for this week's adventure.
As always, thank you for your support.
I don't have a Patreon, nor do I ask for donations. If you want to help me, the best thing you can do is share this content with your followers if you enjoyed it.
Thanks for being here all the same.
Back to work.
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